http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/06/2786322.htm
The Indian government has issued an advisory urging Indian students to be cautious in Australia and warning them of an alleged spike of attacks in Melbourne.
The Ministry of External Affairs issued the official advisory in response to the killing of 21-year-old Indian graduate Nitin Garg, who was stabbed to death in Melbourne on Saturday night.
It singles out Melbourne as a street-crime hotspot and says acts of violence against Indians have often been accompanied by verbal abuse and fuelled by alcohol and drugs.
The Indian government is calling on Indian students to be alert and telling them not to travel alone at night or carry large amounts of cash.
It says while most Indian students have had a positive experience in Australia, assaults and robberies have been on the rise, despite the efforts of Victorian police.
Yesterday, Acting Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Crean called for calm and said Melbourne was not the only city in the world where attacks took place.
A spokesman for Mr Crean says the advisories for Indian students travelling to Australia are a matter for the Indian government, and Melbourne has one of the lowest homicide rates in the world.
Acting Victoria Premier Rob Hulls maintains the state is a "friendly place to study".
"Whilst warnings are entirely a matter for the Indian government, everyone needs to realise that Melbourne is a welcoming, open place that certainly welcomes Indian students and welcomes students from all around the world," he said.
'Doomed' student market
The New Delhi vice-president of the Association of Australian Education Representatives in India, Bubbly Johar, says Mr Garg's death has further damaged Australia's reputation as a safe and affordable destination for Indian students.
He says if the Australian Government fails to act, the Indian student market will fall apart.
"The market is absolutely doomed. Which parent will allow students to go to a country like this?" he said.
"The market is 90 per cent down in India and this will continue; it's not going to stop."
Mr Johar says the debate over whether Mr Garg's killing was racially motivated misses the point.
He says the most important thing is to ensure the safety of Indian students in Australia and acknowledge the terrible loss for Mr Garg's family.
"We do agree that Australia is not a racist country, we do agree that," he said.
"But parents have lost their child. Whether it's racist or not racist doesn't bother anyone now. Losing the most precious thing in your life, is your child."
'Provoking fear'
Deakin University criminologist Darren Palmer says the way authorities have handled the reports of assaults on Indian students may have invited the extra scrutiny of Melbourne.
"In relation to the latest case, there was a quick attempt to come out and defend Melbourne, Victoria and Australia's reputation, and in a way that ups the ante," he said.
"That puts it on the international stage automatically."
But Dr Palmer says claims in the Indian government's statement cannot be verified.
"The level of detail in which they've gone into in their analysis in the warning seems rather unusual," he said.
"And the findings, if you like, are questionable, at least in terms of the lack of detailed knowledge we have about trends in violent attacks against Indians in Australia."
Dr Palmer says there is no strong evidence that the number of robberies and assaults in Melbourne has been on the rise in recent months, as the statement says.
"There's not really that kind of strong evidence there and the kind of data that's collected is poor in terms of being able to identify racial indicators," he said.
"Most Australian police forces do not record the race of the victims and offenders."
And he says making such a statement without strong evidence to support the claim is a dangerous move.
"One, it can cause unnecessary panic that you are actually overstating the risk to such an extent that people can dramatically change their behaviours, whether it's people wanting to come here as students or whether it's people who are here and how they behave," he said.
"On the other hand I guess there is a more basic message [in the statement] that people have to potentially change their behaviours in terms of protecting against victimisation.
"But you're on a dangerous path down there where you actually can start to blame the victims for the victimisation. So you've got to tread very cautiously and not unnecessarily provoke fear."
The Indian government has issued an advisory urging Indian students to be cautious in Australia and warning them of an alleged spike of attacks in Melbourne.
The Ministry of External Affairs issued the official advisory in response to the killing of 21-year-old Indian graduate Nitin Garg, who was stabbed to death in Melbourne on Saturday night.
It singles out Melbourne as a street-crime hotspot and says acts of violence against Indians have often been accompanied by verbal abuse and fuelled by alcohol and drugs.
The Indian government is calling on Indian students to be alert and telling them not to travel alone at night or carry large amounts of cash.
It says while most Indian students have had a positive experience in Australia, assaults and robberies have been on the rise, despite the efforts of Victorian police.
Yesterday, Acting Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Crean called for calm and said Melbourne was not the only city in the world where attacks took place.
A spokesman for Mr Crean says the advisories for Indian students travelling to Australia are a matter for the Indian government, and Melbourne has one of the lowest homicide rates in the world.
Acting Victoria Premier Rob Hulls maintains the state is a "friendly place to study".
"Whilst warnings are entirely a matter for the Indian government, everyone needs to realise that Melbourne is a welcoming, open place that certainly welcomes Indian students and welcomes students from all around the world," he said.
'Doomed' student market
The New Delhi vice-president of the Association of Australian Education Representatives in India, Bubbly Johar, says Mr Garg's death has further damaged Australia's reputation as a safe and affordable destination for Indian students.
He says if the Australian Government fails to act, the Indian student market will fall apart.
"The market is absolutely doomed. Which parent will allow students to go to a country like this?" he said.
"The market is 90 per cent down in India and this will continue; it's not going to stop."
Mr Johar says the debate over whether Mr Garg's killing was racially motivated misses the point.
He says the most important thing is to ensure the safety of Indian students in Australia and acknowledge the terrible loss for Mr Garg's family.
"We do agree that Australia is not a racist country, we do agree that," he said.
"But parents have lost their child. Whether it's racist or not racist doesn't bother anyone now. Losing the most precious thing in your life, is your child."
'Provoking fear'
Deakin University criminologist Darren Palmer says the way authorities have handled the reports of assaults on Indian students may have invited the extra scrutiny of Melbourne.
"In relation to the latest case, there was a quick attempt to come out and defend Melbourne, Victoria and Australia's reputation, and in a way that ups the ante," he said.
"That puts it on the international stage automatically."
But Dr Palmer says claims in the Indian government's statement cannot be verified.
"The level of detail in which they've gone into in their analysis in the warning seems rather unusual," he said.
"And the findings, if you like, are questionable, at least in terms of the lack of detailed knowledge we have about trends in violent attacks against Indians in Australia."
Dr Palmer says there is no strong evidence that the number of robberies and assaults in Melbourne has been on the rise in recent months, as the statement says.
"There's not really that kind of strong evidence there and the kind of data that's collected is poor in terms of being able to identify racial indicators," he said.
"Most Australian police forces do not record the race of the victims and offenders."
And he says making such a statement without strong evidence to support the claim is a dangerous move.
"One, it can cause unnecessary panic that you are actually overstating the risk to such an extent that people can dramatically change their behaviours, whether it's people wanting to come here as students or whether it's people who are here and how they behave," he said.
"On the other hand I guess there is a more basic message [in the statement] that people have to potentially change their behaviours in terms of protecting against victimisation.
"But you're on a dangerous path down there where you actually can start to blame the victims for the victimisation. So you've got to tread very cautiously and not unnecessarily provoke fear."
